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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30010761">Reasons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower'>MegaWallflower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Not Beta Read, Summons &amp; Summoning Meta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:13:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,102</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30010761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Duy’s death, Guy decides to get a summon.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ebisu &amp; Shiranui Genma &amp; Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy, Maito Dai | Might Duy &amp; Maito Gai | Might Guy, Maito Gai | Might Guy &amp; Ningame, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Reasons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first reason was because Guy would be too lonely otherwise.</p><p>He couldn’t even bear to return to the home he and his father used to share alone together. Duy was dead now. The house would be lonely. His father had left him neither a body nor even its ashes in his memories. His final words slipped through Guy’s fingertips too easily. Guy needed something to hold onto.</p><p>Guy couldn’t keep alternating between couch surfing at Kakashi’s, Genma’s, and Ebisu’s places and working so hard that he didn’t have time to sleep. He had to go home eventually.</p><p>When he’d asked Kakashi how he handled having such an empty home after Sakumo, Kakashi mentioned his ninken. Rather surprisingly, Kakashi had offered to set Guy up with a contract to have a ninken of his own.</p><p>Guy had turned him down—he didn’t copy Kakashi, no matter what anyone accused him of—but the heart of the advice was pretty sound.</p><p>A summon would be nice. It would be something to watch his back, now that his father couldn’t.</p><p>Guy brought his thumb up to his mouth and sunk his teeth in until skin broke, then a little more, harder than necessary. The bitter taste of iron spread on his tongue. He gritted his teeth, angry at himself and blinking back tears that he would pretend were only from the pain of his wounded thumb.</p><p>The only ones here to see were Ebisu and Genma, and they wouldn’t laugh at him. They hadn’t cracked a proper laugh since Duy’s death either.</p><p>.</p><p>The second reason was because it was what Duy would have wanted.</p><p>After all, this was his dad’s favorite animal ever.</p><p>Duy had mentioned it to him once. They were at the beach together. Sakumo had brought them along on one of his missions, and he’d rushed through the business half of it so the four of them could all enjoy a mini-vacation, as long as the boys promised not to tell on him.</p><p>It was Guy’s first time on a beach. It wasn’t Kakashi. Kakashi was somehow already an expert at everything Guy challenged him at on the beach, from sandcastle building to surfing.</p><p>Sakumo had been showing him how to paddle out on his surfboard, and Kakashi laughed when Duy called him his little turtle. Guy’s face burned red in embarrassment.</p><p>Kakashi had mockingly said that the nickname suited Guy, and Guy had scowled. He had insisted that he didn't want to be a dumb, plodding turtle. He was fast— like a shark, one of those fierce ones with the beady eyes, zipping round the sea and biting anyone who bothered him; anyone who made him angry or upset or feel small or scared would get a chomp. Guy complained that all his classmates already called him slow—he didn’t want to give them more ammunition.</p><p>Sakumo had raised a concerned eyebrow at his expression. “It’s just a nickname, there’s no need to think so hard about it…” he insisted, always the peacekeeper.</p><p>“Turtles are pretty cool, y'know!” Duy boasted. “Right, Sakumo?”</p><p>“Huh? Oh—Yes, they are! They, um… They can live to be over a hundred years old, and they can weather any hit. They cry to filter the salt out of the ocean water they swallow…” Sakumo listed off what he hoped were fun facts that would impress a little kid. Guy obviously hadn't looked impressed, so he'd continued, “And they can swim for miles and miles, and they were around when the dinosaurs were here."</p><p>Guy’s frown had deepened, and he said he’d rather just be a dinosaur if he had to choose between the two. Nobody would laugh at a giant, lumbering beast like a dinosaur. No one would call a dinosaur hopeless or weird or slow.</p><p>Unhelpfully, Kakashi had chimed in again to brag, “One of my dad’s wolves could crack the shell of a tortoise in its jaw without even trying.”</p><p>Sakumo shushed him. Guy had splashed water at him in annoyance, which had devolved into a water fight that Guy had lost. Water style really felt like it was cheating.</p><p>“Dinosaurs and wolves are nothing in comparison to the mighty turtle!” Duy had boasted suddenly, with one of his full-belly laughs. “Turtles are creatures that stand alongside dragons and phoenixes and tigers, every bit as legendary and beastly! A beast of longevity and protection—that’s the sort of warrior you should aim to be when you’re all grown up, Guy! Solid, powerful, and above all,” Duy had added, ruffling Guy’s soaked hair, “Long-lived! I want you to grow up to be an old man, older than me, who still believes in youth with all your heart! Got it!?”</p><p>“I’ve never heard of those four being… in the same category?” Sakumo said. His smile was equal parts apologetic and confused.</p><p>If he was hoping for an explanation, he would be sorely disappointed. Duy just laughed again. “Really? I’ve only ever heard those four together! They’re a matching set! I guess it’s a little unheard of here?”</p><p>His dad’s voice had gone quieter, and so Guy strained to keep listening, “I think if I had to be any animal, I'd be a turtle. I'd love to just get in the water and swim and swim and see what's out there. See what's all the way on the other side of the ocean. There are some things I’d want to see again…” Duy had stared wistfully out at the sea, lost in his own head for a few minutes until he'd turned back to Guy and playfully wagged his finger at him, “But don't you dare do that, mister! If you dare swim too far past where I can keep my eye on you, I'm coming in and dragging you out myself! Live long and grow up big and strong, and no matter what, like a turtle, move forward with your goal in mind.”</p><p>Guy had offered a half-hearted smile then, said something about how a phoenix or a dragon sounded like the better choice from that lineup, then jumped to his feet and ran back into the sea after Kakashi provoked him again.</p><p>Duy and Sakumo watched together from the shore, talking more about beasts and legends. Duy’s gaze stayed fixed on Guy as he paddled away and away. All day, he’d still insisted that turtles were the mightiest of creatures.</p><p>So that was it.</p><p>It was decided.</p><p>Turtle it was.</p><p>The ornate seal was undone, and the scroll unfurled in terse silence across the table, dusty and worn and huge. It had been hard to track down and harder to obtain –it had been a long time since anyone had sought out the necessary contract for turtles. Ebisu’s encyclopedic nerdiness had come in handy to track this down.</p><p>.</p><p>The third reason was because Guy felt restless.</p><p>He wanted to do something big, something that felt a little bit life-changing, something that reminded him he was alive, something that made him feel to his core that he was a life that was worth the life that burned out to save him.</p><p>The paper of the scroll was thick and aged. It went on for pages in a neat handwriting and ancient glyphs. Guy half-read through the parchment, growing bored with each rule and stipulation, until he reached the end with a line meant for his signature. A list of names preceded it, other signatures of former summoners. There weren’t very many. Duy couldn’t use ninjutsu, but Guy found himself reflexively searching for his name anyway. It wasn’t there, of course.</p><p>Guy’s blood rushed, flowing out of his freshly wounded finger. His heart beat heavily in his ears, the lone sound aside from the quietest echoes of chatter. Ebisu and Genma stood behind him, catching their breaths. They hadn’t understood Guy’s insistence, but they had tagged along to help him anyway. It felt nice to do something together as a team, to successfully support each other after the failure that had been the encounter with the Mist shinobi.</p><p>They were, after all, professionals.</p><p>Even if they were young, and even if this was war, and even If no one but themselves cared if they lived or died. They were shinobi, too.</p><p>They’d been searching all night, and it was the crack of dawn now. Light streamed in as the sun peeked over the horizon curiously, as if it wanted to watch the moment of truth, too. Guy wasn’t even tired. The adrenaline from the long journey kept him wired.</p><p>Guy finally felt that he could breathe. He exhaled in a puff, thick in the icy air.</p><p>“…I think this was a lot of trouble to go through just for a turtle,” Ebisu said, breaking the silence with an arid complaint. It came out like he was about to burst.</p><p>“Ebisu…” Genma warned in a low voice.</p><p>“A turtle! I agreed to do whatever you needed to help you get over… <em>that</em>… but a turtle?! A turtle?! Is it because it’s green? Is that your whole thing?”</p><p>“Hey, you’re talking to the newly minted sage of turtles,” Genma busied himself by sharpening his blades, going through his equipment, and sifting through their remaining rations. He’d grown a bit more quiet and solemn since their run-in with the swordsmen of the mist, but he was slowly getting back his old sardonic cheer. “Show a little respect, Ebisu.”</p><p>“What does that title even mean? Is Gai the king of this turtle village now or is he their errand boy? Why seek out an affiliation with a village of turtles?! And, again, I wouldn’t mind except—why turtles?!”</p><p>“Because,” Guy answered, clearing his throat. Genma and Ebisu turned their attention to him, and Guy gave his teammates a big, cheesy grin and a wink, and simply said, “Turtles are pretty cool, you know!”</p><p>Ebisu groaned in exaggerated annoyance, and Genma laughed.</p><p>The tension had finally broken, and the three boys could finally shoot each other genuine smiles. Guy had always been impulsive, ever since he was a kid, and his determination burned.</p><p>“At least you two are acting like yourselves again. When we all die out here, we get to die as ourselves,” Genma chuckled, placing a senbon in his mouth and playing with it between his teeth. “I’ll get to go out laughing at something. Probably myself.”</p><p>“Oh, and you’re back to your unfunny little quips about all of us dying… Can’t say I missed that!” Ebisu huffed.</p><p>“My jokes are the main thing keeping this team together.”</p><p>“By what measure!?”</p><p>Ghosts still weighed on their shoulders, but at least, in this small way, Team Choza was back.</p><p>The laughter and banter helped steady Guy’s hands, despite his own blood soaking them. Guy signed quickly. His writing scrawled across the paper in a sloppy signature that sealed this partnership. The blood pooled into a fingerprint, splashing across faded paper in deep red as Guy pressed down.</p><p>He flashed through the hand seals—boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep.</p><p>Smoke surrounded him, vanished just as quickly, and Guy blinked once at the creature before him.</p><p>A turtle—a tortoise, to be exact. A compromise. Guy was more grounded than Duy had been, and, to be honest, he didn’t enjoy being on the water much.</p><p>But it was still extra strong and extra special, just like his dad. Sturdy and brightly colored.</p><p>And, most importantly, it was his, from this day forward. Guy wondered what Duy would say right now, and admitted to himself that he wasn’t really sure.</p><p>.</p><p>The fourth reason Guy had been so insistent on getting a summon right away—he couldn’t ride on Duy’s positivity anymore. This was his first step in setting himself apart from his father.</p><p>Burning red, with half-lidded but sharply eyes, the tortoise sized Guy up dubiously.</p><p>“—It isn’t even <em>green</em>!” Ebisu muttered to Genma, who laughed and elbowed him to shush.</p><p>Guy cleared his throat again and kneeled down to look the small tortoise in the eyes. “I’ve looked forward to meeting you! From today onward,” Guy extended a hand in greeting, then hesitated, trying to decide if he should offer a handshake or a paw or a fistbump. He settled for the latter. “Let’s cheer each other on!”</p><p>Flat, dry toes raised to meet him, bumping against Guy’s clenched fist. Its foot was small, for now.</p><p>.</p><p>The fifth reason was, Guy wanted one more thing to protect, and one more thing to protect him back.</p><p>Tortoises were sturdy and lived long lives.</p><p>This was one companion Guy wouldn’t have to bury himself.</p>
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